The creamy centers of the Golden Oreos are great in here, but the unexpected crunch puts these cookies over the top.

The Duke, who loves Oreos more than life itself, proclaimed that he actually likes Golden Oreos better than traditional Oreos. Who knew?

Believe me, if you make these cookies, they will fly off the plate!

Alright, back to the grind for me…I’m at a writing training today. Can you believe pre-planning for teachers starts this Thursday, and school starts next Thursday, August 5th??? CRAZINESS! Where did the summer go? The Duchess

I was browsing one of my favorite blogs, Picky Palate , and came upon a recipe for Peanut Butter and Jelly White Chocolate Blondies. Hold the phone! Those are the three most heavenly things on this earth, all put into one scrumptious treat. I’m not surprised…Jenny is the queen of sweets, after all!

These blondies had a texture similar to pound cake, which is just fine by me.

You all know that I’m obsessed with peanut butter, right? I could eat it at every meal. I try to limit myself to 1 serving (aka 2 tablespoons) per day, but sometimes I can’t do it. I love getting a spoonful of peanut butter and dotting it with white chocolate chips.

These blondies are sorta like that, but people don’t look at you as funny.

Hope you all enjoy! Have a fabulous Thursday and wonderful weekend. I’ll be trapped in my house doing homework. BLAH! The Duchess

On another note, did I mention I’ll be teaching 5th grade next year? I’m so excited! I’ll be working at the same school, but I’ll have my very own classroom, my very own class roster and my very own grade level team. Woop woop! All of my hard work this year has paid off. I’ve loved my Pre-K babies, but bring on the big kids.

It was a friend’s birthday this week, and I wanted to make her something fun. You all know that I love making cookies from cake mix, and what’s the most fun cake mix you can think of?

Funfetti, of course! I’m pretty sure this cake made its way into every birthday party I ever went to growing up. And for good reason. It’s fun and it’s confetti…what more could you need?

This cake mix made for the cutest (and tastiest) cookies. The base is white cake, which is always so light in texture. A friend that tasted them said the cookies tasted like clouds. I guess that’s good?

With the bright and cheery colors peaking out in these cookies, they’re perfect for any celebration. They would also make a great ice cream sandwich with vanilla or strawberry ice cream. Summer parties will never be the same!

I hope you all have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. The Duke and I plan on being on the boat all weekend, though I heard it was going to rain I promise I’ll be sharing some not-so-sweet recipes soon. I feel like it’s been ages since I posted anything besides a cookie.

Tata for now! The Duchess

With Mother’s Day just around the corner, I thought I’d show you a simple and show-stopping biscotti recipe. Biscotti may seem fancy and time-consuming, but my version starts with pineapple upside down cake mix…what could be easier? I dress up the boxed stuff with toasted coconut and white chocolate. The result is a beautiful cookie that Mom will love to dip in her tea or coffee (when you bring her breakfast in bed).

Just drizzle some candy melts over the top, and these little babies look like they came from a bakery.

I just think the presentation of these biscotti is top-notch. No one will now how easy they are! I think mom will definitely be impressed.

Wrap them up in cellophane bags with festive ribbons for an extra special presentation.

The Duke and I will actually be in NYC with my parents for Mother’s Day this year. My mom’s birthday falls on Mother’s Day (May 9th), so we’re taking her to lunch at Bobby Flay’s Bar Americain and then to see Promises, Promises on Broadway (starring my favorite Broadway actress, Kristin Chenoweth). I can’t wait!!!
The Duchess

The shower was at 2 in the afternoon, so we didn’t need a full meal. Instead, I made a bunch of cute finger foods, starting with cucumber sandwiches.

Nothing fancy here, but Ashley (the bride) was adamant about these classic finger sandwiches. I also made pimento cheese sandwiches, using my Granny Flash’s recipe, which calls for crumbled bacon. YUM!

The secret to really good pimento cheese is EXTRA sharp cheddar and lots of cracked black pepper. To brighten up the color palate, I made an awesome and super easy grape tomato and feta salad.

I made this salad for a different shower back in August. It’s light, fresh and quite the crowd pleaser. To keep things fun, I filled some tiny phyllo cups with curried chicken salad (another request of the bride).

These flavorful cups turned out really cute! And since curry is such a strong flavor, this was the perfect amount. Lastly, I made a beautiful fruit salsa, loosely based on this recipe from Our Best Bites.

We all took our plates outside and dined in the garden. The weather was just perfect!

I worked up quite the appetite while prepping for the shower, so I pretty much filled my plate.

I was busy refilling mimosas while everyone ate, so I didn’t even eat the whole plate. On the bright side, check out our precious place settings, which doubled as favors.

I just loved them!

I snapped a quick picture of Ashley (on the left) with her sister, and my dear friend, Elizabeth.

Aren’t they beautiful? They’ve got Greek blood in them, and you know how gorgeous people from the Mediterranean are.

After lunch, we munched on some white chocolate and lemon cookies while Ashley opened gifts.

I also made frozen banana pops from Picky Palate, but failed to take a picture. The ladies loved them, though. I mean, how can you not like bananas, peanut butter and CHOCOLATE???

Ashley was showered with plenty of wonderful kitchen gadgets.

I gave her that picnic basket with a “C” on it. How cute is that??

Cooking for the shower was tons of fun and I can’t wait to do it again. I guess that means the rest of my friends need to find men and get engaged quick! The Duchess

One day last week, Jane from This Week for Dinner tweeted about a blondie recipe. I was immediately intrigued and raced to her site to see what the fuss was about. Have you visited Jane’s site yet? It’s too cute! Jane and her readers post their menus for the week, along with recipes. It’s a handy dandy resource for us busy folks. Jane actually adapted this blondie recipe from the Taste of Home Baking Book. I don’t know why, but I couldn’t get the idea of a sweet and chewy freshly-baked blondie out of my head. As soon as I got home I tried the recipe for myself…but with a few twists. I subsituted whole wheat flour for all purpose and it came out great! They didn’t taste “healthy” or dry. Instead, they just felt more hearty and satisfying. I also cut my blondies into hearts and died them pink for Valentine’s Day!!

How stinking cute is that??? After drizzling some baby pink candy melts on top, the “pinkies” were cuter than I ever anticipated. And like I said before, they were delicious! The Duke took them into work with him and his office mates devoured them.

I just can’t get over the cute factor here. And they’re sinfully good. I kept the scraps around the house for about a day before I had to toss them. I would have eaten my weight in the scraps if I hadn’t taken care of things.

Make these for your sweet heart soon!

Have a great Tuesday. See you soon with more sweet treats. The Duchess

I really want to share this simple recipe for cookies with you. I got an original recipe a while back from Laura at Real Mom Kitchen. The great thing about the recipe is that you can make it your own, and make it completely new each time. It starts out with a box of cake mix, and you add in a few simple ingredients. I mean, could it get any easier? I think not. You can use any combo of flavors for the cookies, but I had Classic White cake mix on hand, so I went with that. Remember my dad’s Meyer Lemon I told you about? Well I had that on hand, also, and wanted to use it up before it died. Look how juicy and delicious:

I love the lemon/ white chocolate combo, so I knew I wanted to fold in some white chocolate chips. I also had almond slivers and shredded coconut on hand, so I “toasted” them on the stove. I just threw them both in the same pan for ease, and it turned out great.

You add a couple of eggs and a little bit of oil to the cake mix to make it more cookie-like. Look how amazing this batter is. I could have eaten the entire bowl. Don’t think I wouldn’t have….

So after they bake a few minutes, the finished product is a perfectly cakey, yet crisp cookie. It really doesn’t get any better (or easier)!

I love the combo of lemon and white chocolate, but you can mix in any ingredients you want. Chocolate cake mix would be great with a swirl of peanut butter, chocolate chips and crushed peanuts. You get the idea.

Well, I’m off for another long day. The Duke and I are having dinner with his boss tonight. Tootles! The Duchess

So after my exhausting day yesterday, I woke up starved this morning. I scarfed down this entire oatmeal pancake.

I’ve made it a few times before, but this time I added pecans to the batter and topped it with chopped apples and a smear of my almond butter/peanut butter/ sugar-free syrup mix. It was the perfect Sunday morning breakfast!!

So the other day the Duke and I were at his parents house when I noticed his mom’s LARGE cookie sheet. She makes fantastic cookies, just ask the Duke . Anyway, I casually commented about how I loved it (she said it could hold 2 dozen cookies at once!), and how I needed to get one eventually. Low and behold, the next day she shows up at my place with a package of three new cookie sheets, including the huge one.

Do I have the best mother-in-law, or what??

After she left I was inspired to bake. I couldn’t let her newly-bought cookie sheets sit and collect dust, now could I? So I rummaged around the pantry and freezer (I store my nuts and baking chips in the freezer-they last much longer), and found pecans, white chocolate chips and coconut. What the heck, I thought…let’s give it a whirl. I used my go-to batter recipe with the addition of the aforementioned ingredients and a pinch of cinnamon. The result? A fantastically perfect cookie!

I think you’ll definitely love these sweet and salty cookies. On another note, after trying a more personal daily account of blogging this week, I have to say I’ve enjoyed it! It’s fun to post more than just recipes. That being said, I think I’ll keep it up, and only post recipes on Monday, Thursday and (maybe) Saturday, just like I used to.

Thanks for putting up with me! Keep the comments coming and don’t forget to follow me. Hugs and kisses! The Duchess

Have a happy and safe Halloween! See you Monday. Oh, and GO GATORS!The Duchess

Good Monday morning! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. The Duke and I traveled to Birmingham, AL this weekend for a wedding. JuJu (short for Juliet) and I worked in the same office building. She and her now-husband David are sweet, Southern and always up for fun! Their wedding was breath-taking. It was in a gorgeous old church, with the reception at a very Southern and very old country club. There were easily 400 people there, and they were all wearing outfits worth more than my car. The food was great (my favorites were the shrimp and grits and sweet corn pone), the band was great (gotta love a big band playing funk and soul), and of course, the open bar was great!

Now onto something sweet to start your week. The Duke and I hosted a housewarming party last weekend. Since we’re in the thick of summer, I wanted to create an islandy feel. Is that even a word? I wanted to create the feeling of the islands. That better? Anyhoo, I’ve been messing around with different mix-ins for rice crispy treats. I feel like their a blank canvas of sugary goodness, waiting to be painted. I’ve tried them with peanut butter chips mixed in and topped with chocolate. That’s a winner, for sure! Well, for this masterpiece I toasted some coconut and macadamia nuts (on the same sheet, at the same time, for the sake of time) and topped them with white chocolate. They were a huge hit at the party! I’ll certainly be making these little gems again.

I hope you all enjoy these! With school starting soon, these would be a great surprise treat in any kid’s lunch box. Or in any adult’s lunch box for that matter.
The Duchess